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A review by _onemorechapter_
The God of the Woods by Liz Moore
adventurous
mysterious
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.25
๐ญAlright, yโall. This one had me hooked at first: summer camp, missing kids, 1970s vibes, and some seriously creepy woods with secretsโฆ whatโs not to love, right? Well, letโs just say The God of the Woods started with a bang and ended with more of a whimper๐ฌ
The story kicks off in 1975 when Barbara Van Laar, a camp owner's daughter, straight-up vanishes from her summer camp bunk. Oh, and by the way, her brother disappeared from the same woods 14 years ago. Spooky stuff, right? The small-town mystery vibes were strong in the beginning, with the townโs blue-collar workers getting pulled into the messy, secret-filled Van Laar family drama. It had all the makings of a juicy, twisty mystery, and I was totally invested in finding out what happened to Barbara.
But then... it started dragging. ๐ The pace got so slow I felt like I was wandering in the woods myself, and not in the fun, adventurous way. We jump between different perspectives (seven, to be exact), and just when something juicy is about to happen, BOOMโweโre whisked away to another characterโs POV, losing all the momentum. Itโs like the mystery was building and thenโฆ fizzled out. ๐
As for characters I don't like a single person! Alice and Louise were kinda frustrating. They both made so many questionable choices that I was yelling at the book, โCome on, do better!โ ๐
I don't know why Jacob was in the story. There were so many chapters based on Tracy's POV, and in the end, it didn't even matter!
And letโs talk about the ending for a second - unsatisfying AF. Some clues werenโt even resolved, and the final twist felt like it came out of nowhere and not in a good way.
That said, Liz Mooreโs writing is beautiful and atmospheric. The descriptions of the Adirondack woods were vivid, and the slow-burn build had moments of brilliance. But the 500 pages just felt... too long. If you love a meandering, literary-fiction-esque mystery, you might vibe with it more than I did. Itโs more of a character-driven slow-burn than a thriller, so adjust your expectations accordingly.
Themes:
Summer camp nostalgia (but make it spooky)
Dysfunctional family secrets
Missing siblings + generational trauma
Dual timelines (60s-70s vibes)
Multiple POVs (so many ๐)
Slow-burn mystery
Criticisms:
Not thrilling enough for a mystery.
Too long for the payoff.
SLOW. Iโm warning you.
Overall, it had potential and some really strong moments, but the slow pacing and unsatisfying resolution made it fall a bit flat for me.
๐.๐ Iโm in the minority here. Everyone else is loving this! Sometimes thereโs just a mismatch between a reader and a book, and thatโs probably what happened here.
๐ธ๐ด๐ ๐น๐๐๐๐๐: โญโญโญ.25
๐ธ๐ฎ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐ ๐น๐๐๐๐๐: 4.23
๐ธ๐ฎ๐๐๐๐:Thriller, Mystery, Domestic Fiction, Crime Fiction, Psychological Fiction
๐ธ๐น๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐: If you're into slow-burn literary mysteries, give it a try, but if youโre here for the twists and fast-paced dramaโฆ you might want to pass. ๐คทโโ๏ธ
The story kicks off in 1975 when Barbara Van Laar, a camp owner's daughter, straight-up vanishes from her summer camp bunk. Oh, and by the way, her brother disappeared from the same woods 14 years ago. Spooky stuff, right? The small-town mystery vibes were strong in the beginning, with the townโs blue-collar workers getting pulled into the messy, secret-filled Van Laar family drama. It had all the makings of a juicy, twisty mystery, and I was totally invested in finding out what happened to Barbara.
But then... it started dragging. ๐ The pace got so slow I felt like I was wandering in the woods myself, and not in the fun, adventurous way. We jump between different perspectives (seven, to be exact), and just when something juicy is about to happen, BOOMโweโre whisked away to another characterโs POV, losing all the momentum. Itโs like the mystery was building and thenโฆ fizzled out. ๐
As for characters I don't like a single person! Alice and Louise were kinda frustrating. They both made so many questionable choices that I was yelling at the book, โCome on, do better!โ ๐
I don't know why Jacob was in the story. There were so many chapters based on Tracy's POV, and in the end, it didn't even matter!
And letโs talk about the ending for a second - unsatisfying AF. Some clues werenโt even resolved, and the final twist felt like it came out of nowhere and not in a good way.
That said, Liz Mooreโs writing is beautiful and atmospheric. The descriptions of the Adirondack woods were vivid, and the slow-burn build had moments of brilliance. But the 500 pages just felt... too long. If you love a meandering, literary-fiction-esque mystery, you might vibe with it more than I did. Itโs more of a character-driven slow-burn than a thriller, so adjust your expectations accordingly.
Themes:
Summer camp nostalgia (but make it spooky)
Dysfunctional family secrets
Missing siblings + generational trauma
Dual timelines (60s-70s vibes)
Multiple POVs (so many ๐)
Slow-burn mystery
Criticisms:
Not thrilling enough for a mystery.
Too long for the payoff.
SLOW. Iโm warning you.
Overall, it had potential and some really strong moments, but the slow pacing and unsatisfying resolution made it fall a bit flat for me.
๐.๐ Iโm in the minority here. Everyone else is loving this! Sometimes thereโs just a mismatch between a reader and a book, and thatโs probably what happened here.
๐ธ๐ด๐ ๐น๐๐๐๐๐: โญโญโญ.25
๐ธ๐ฎ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐ ๐น๐๐๐๐๐: 4.23
๐ธ๐ฎ๐๐๐๐:Thriller, Mystery, Domestic Fiction, Crime Fiction, Psychological Fiction
๐ธ๐น๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐: If you're into slow-burn literary mysteries, give it a try, but if youโre here for the twists and fast-paced dramaโฆ you might want to pass. ๐คทโโ๏ธ